You have no idea of what was once located here!

4. E.C. Newsome Furniture Company



What became the long time home of E.C. Newsom Furniture Company dates back to LaVilla's era as a

Jewish district. Completed before the Great Fire of 1901, the three story brick building's original tenants included a dry goods store owned and operated by David and Jos Moscovitz. However, the building was mostly known for housing Edward Clarence Newsom's furniture store. Born in Georgia in 1881, Newsom, who resided at 1850 Liberty Street in Springfield, was also the president of the Florida Furniture and Storage Association. By the 1950s, the store was being operated by Walter and Julian Newsom. As downtown declined in the 1980s, so did the several shops operating in downtown's furniture district along Broad and West Forsyth Streets.


Newsom Furniture's storefront in 1951. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, https://floridamemory.com/items/show/51202 - See more at: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/51202#sthash.jLrMoJGV.dpuf

In the early 2000s, Newsom's fell victim to the "downtown gamechanger" syndrome. That "gamechanger" was supposed to be the new Duval County Courthouse. In preparation, several structurally sound buildings that had survived fires, the Great Depression, Hurricane Dora and LaVilla's 1990s destruction, came rumbling down in hopes of new development being attracted to the new courthouse. According to a Jax Daily Record article at the time, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Deputy Director Paul Crawford claimed his office issued the demolition permit because the building was condemned and had no significant historical value. He was also quoted in the article stating, "I imagine there’ll be a development plan coming forward in the next couple of years as we get closer to construction of the courthouse".


Looking at the intersection of Broad and Houston Streets in 1987. Newsom Furniture can be seen in the distance. Courtesy of the City of Jacksonville.

After a decade of delays, the courthouse finally opened in 2012. However, other than being a dirt parking lot, the last time 139 Broad Street saw an influx of visitors, it happened to be residents combing through demolition ruble in search of choice bricks.







Stories Behind the Concrete Slabs of Jax: Part I

Stories Behind the Concrete Slabs of Jax: Part II